Privacy and personal geographic dataDirections MagazineAt the Creating the Policy and Legal Framework for a Location-enabled Society conference in Boston, Kirk Goldsberry, who is a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Geographic Analysis at Harvard, gave a fascinating presentation with the help of two of his students on the topic of personal geographic data and privacy. Geoff Zeiss provides a recap.

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Volunteers receive recognition in National Map gamification effortGIS UserRecall back in April when I discussed the USGS' new crowd sourcing efforts for building out the National Map. Some enhacements and additional "gaming" elements have now been included in the effort to expand the Volunteer Geographic Information project from a state pilot to a national level effort. On May 22 the VGI effort was introduced, designed to recognize and award participants.

GPS civil funding request slashedInside GNSSWith just more than four months to go in the 2013 fiscal year, sequestration and furloughs are taking a bite out of key research and the work of the National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing — the government nexus for GPS-related policy matters. The NCO is an interagency organization, explained director Jan Brecht-Clark, so "each individual staff member is subject to furloughs implemented by their home agency as a result of sequestration."

Collaborate.org launches new platform to map worldCNETCollaborate.org wants to bring geospatial data to the masses, beyond where Google Earth has gone. The company, which launched at the Future in Review conference, is built around a geospatial visualizer, with more than 2 million data layers that can be overlaid on maps, and a broad set of collaboration tools.

Top 10 awesome features coming in new Google MapsGIS UserI'm sure more than a few of you have been catching the 2013 Google I/O livestream, unless you happen to be there in person (lucky you). It's always a treat to hear about Google and what's coming next. For myself I was interested to hear all about the future of Google Maps and Google Maps for mobile.

Mainstream geospatial industry trends lead mankind into brighter futureGeoplaceIt was only 10 years ago that the term "professional" was first applied to GIS. The geospatial world was relatively unfamiliar to the public at large, and it took decades of establishing it as a credible technology before it has finally become mainstream — where it has always belonged. Today, people young and old navigate virtual maps with ease — something that previously was a playground for GIS specialists.

What role does modeling and simulation play in disaster response?Sensors & SystemsGIS has proven itself time and again as an integral tool in planning and responding to disasters, and we've come a long way in our capabilities to communicate and incorporate up-to-date details about unfolding events. The trend is for more frequent and intense natural disasters worldwide due to increased populations in vulnerable areas, and heightened global change. While GIS continues to advance to address the issue of planning and response, there are some key areas in need of further development.

Can tax credits do for energy storage what they did for wind?Smart Grid NewsWe've all seen how tax credits boosted investment in wind power. Will the same concept work for energy storage? Both chambers of the U.S. Congress have introduced bipartisan bills to allow investment tax credits for virtually any kind of energy storage project. On the plus side, tax credits could help make energy storage more affordable. On the other hand, tax credits distort the market. They convince people to invest in technologies that don't cost out on their own.

GPS IIF-4 successfully launched from Cape CanaveralGPS WorldThe Centaur upper stage with the payload still attached was photographed from Tavistock, Devon, in the U.K. by Andy Smith. As can be seen from the ground trace figure in an earlier GPS World news item, the Centaur passed over the U.K. following MECO1, the first main engine cutoff. From Europe, the Centaur could be easily seen by reflected sunlight against the background stars.

Alex Trebek speaks to lack of funding for US geography education in No Child Left BehindDirections Magazine
Geography has $0 of funding but is one of the nine subjects in "No Child Left Behind." All the other subjects are funded — to some degree. You might know that if you keep up with geography education, but I'm sure most U.S. citizens do not. That point is made not once, but twice in a video where MSNBC's Chuck Todd interviews Alex Trebek, who recently hosted his final National Geographic Bee.

Data.gov expands toolkit for citizen developersGCNAs part of the White House's statement of progress on the Digital Government Strategy, two innovations were announced by Data.gov, the federal government's portal for federal datasets. The first is a list of developer resources that includes links to all federal agency APIs and agency developer hubs. These APIs make government data freely available in machine-readable formats so that innovators and entrepreneurs can turn them into insights, products and businesses.